A Woman's Touch
by Faust IX
Summary: A new career brings Maren to N. Sanity Island. But is she ready for the craziness her job will bring?
1. Chapter 1

This fic was inspired a fan character on Maren Brio, by PoweroftheWol. For a while, I had been thinking of writing a fic regarding her origins, since she hasn't thought of one for her yet. Finally, after asking her permission, I'm doing it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot belongs to Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Maren belongs to PoweroftheWol.

A Woman's Touch Chapter 1 

She looked up from her paper as one of the deck hands entered the cabin. She brushed a few brown hairs out of her eyes as she sat up on her bed.

"We're here miss."

The young woman nodded and smiled.

"Thank you. I'll be right up."

The deck hand nodded as he left the room. The woman neatly folded the newspaper, leaving it on the bedside table before getting up and reaching for her luggage. She hadn't packed much. She was told not to worry about necessities, as they would be provided at her accommodation. She just packed a few personal items, nothing special.

She soon joined the captain on deck. A smile spread across her face when she saw the tropical island the boat was passing close to. She knew she had made the right choice in accepting this job. Tropical location, private accommodation, plenty of equipment and plenty of opportunities. It sounded appealing when she found the add online, and so far, it was keeping it's promise.

"We're going to have to continue via longboat Miss Maren," the captain spoke up, "There isn't a nearby port where we can dock."

The woman, Maren, was a little confused by this. No port? Sure the inhabitants here would need some way for supplies to reach them? Maybe they had an airfield or something.

She dumped her bag in the longboat and climbed in as it was lowered into the water. It only took about ten minutes to reach the shore.

"Well, here we are," said the captain as they stepped onto the white sandy beach. Maren searched for any sign of civilization, finding nothing but jungle.

"Um, do you happen to know where he lives?"

The captain shrugged and chuckled sheepishly.

"Well, um, you see, the only address he gave was "N. Sanity Island". That was it. No street, number or anything."

"Wait, then how am I supposed to find him?"

"Well," the captain shrugged again, "I think he's probably the only one living on this island, and it's not that big, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find him."

Maren sighed in annoyance as she turned to face the jungle again.

"How the heck and I going to find him through all this jungle?"

"I'm sure you'll do just fine!"

Strange, why did his voice seem so far of now?"

Maren turned and her jaw dropped. The longboat was pulling away, leaving her on the beach.

"Hey!" she screamed, her annoyance turned into anger, "Get back here! You're not just going to leave me here!?"

"We were paid to take you to the island and that's all!" The captain called back, "I'm sure you'll be able to find him!"

Maren screamed out in rage as she tried to follow the boat. Unfortunately, it was too far out and she only made it knee deep into the water before giving up. Letting out one last scream, she turned, grabbed her bag and stormed into the jungle in a huff.

----------------------------

Muttering obscenities as she stomped through the jungle, Maren had half a mind to throttle her boss the instant she found him. She was already close to crushing the handle of her bag in her hand.

"Hey! Watch it!" a skunk snapped when she accidentally stomped on its tail. Maren muttered a quick apology before continuing her fuming.

Jungle, jungle and more jungle. There was no form of man-made shelter or anywhere her new employer could possibly be.

Letting out a scream of rage, she kicked the nearest stone as hard as she could, sending it into the plant life surrounding her. She could here a sharp thud as the rock hit something nearby.

She stepped back when out of the bushes rose what appeared to be a tribesman of some kind. A dark tan and a black bowel cut, wearing only a glass skirt and holding a spear and a shield. Rubbing the lump on his head, he glared at her.

Maren backed away slowly, mentally cursing her short temper. She felt herself bump into something, something softer than normal.

She slowly turned to see another native behind her, brandishing the same spear and shield as the other one. There was a rustling of leaves and more of them sprung up around her, cutting off any means of escape.

A small whimper escaped from Maren's mouth, followed by a scream that echoed throughout the island.

----------------------------

"What was that?" Coco asked as she looked up from her magazine. Her brother, Crash, their friend, Crunch and their voodoo guardian, Auk Aku all stared out the window in the direction of the scream.

"That sounded like it came from the native village," Crunch spoke up. Auk nodded in agreement.

"And that scream definitely did not come from one of their women. Someone's in trouble."

Coco and Crush nodded. Crash on the other hand had turned back to the TV, watching his favourite cartoon.

"We have to help them!" Coca said. Crush nodded and the three of them headed for the door. Crash however didn't move from the TV.

Until two sets of hands grabbed him and dragged him out the door.

"You're coming too!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot belongs to Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Maren belongs to PoweroftheWol.

**A Woman's Touch Chapter 2**

Maren struggled against the rope tying her to the totem pole. This was NOT how she pictured her fist day on the island. Lost on an island, held captive by natives who were planning God-know-what with her.

She whimpered as the possibilities went through her mind. Where they going to use her as some sort of virgin sacrifice? Were they going to eat her? She could just see it now, "Here lies Maren, eaten by natives because her boss wouldn't provide a decent address."

She looked up when the crows went silent and parted. She gulped when a large, fat native wearing a fancy headdress walk through them towards her. She figured he must be the chief due to the headdress and staff he was carrying.

The chief bent forward, (which surprised Maren due to his gigantic stomach) taking her face into his hand, as he looked her over. Maren growled and shook head he out of his grip.

"Hands off fatso!" she snapped. The chief frowned and pulled away, clearly not liking being talked to like that. He turned and spoke something to the others in a deep, guttural voice. The others nodded and ran off to fetch something. Some of the other natives began gathering wood, placing it on the ground. Maren began fighting her bonds again, fearing what was going to happen.

Her fear was confirmed when the natives came back with a big cooking pot.

----------------------------

The three bandicoots and their guardian peeked over the walls over the native's village. Or rather, one was and the other two were holding her up.

"You see anything?" Crunch grunted, mentally cursing his muscles, resulting in him always being on the bottom.

"Well, the all seem to be gathering around a totem pole and a pot. Papu Papu's there too-wait a minute! I see her!"

Aku floated up beside her to get a look.

"Yes, I see her too."

"See who?" Crunch asked.

"A young woman," Aku replied, "I haven't seen her before. She must be new around here."

"A woman?" Crunched chuckled softly, "Maybe they plan to make her their queen."

"This isn't time for jokes," The voodoo mask replied sternly, "And by the looks of that pot, they have something else in mind for her."

Crunch got the message and lower the two bandicoot siblings down.

"Well, let's get in there, bust them up, and get her out of there!"

The others nodded. Crunch picked up Crash by the scruff of his neck.

"Get ready to fly buddy."

Crash simply nodded and gave the thumbs up.

----------------------------

Maren sagged in her restraints in resignation. This was it. It was over. She was going to be served with a side of steamed vegetables. Well at least she'd be delicious. She hoped so at least.

However, her salvation seemed to fall from the sky, in the form of an orange, fuzzy ball of some description. The natives scattered as it landed and dove into them. From what Maren could see, it appeared to be some sort of orange, humanoid rodent, wearing blue pants, sneakers, brown fingerless gloves and a dopey grin on its face.

Despite its apparent dopiness, it didn't seem to have any trouble fighting off the natives, especially when a second one joined the fray. This one was large, more muscular, had darker fur and wore camouflage pants and had a metal right hand.

The native's chief roared in anger before charging at the smaller, orange bandicoot. As distance was put between Maren and the large man, she felt her restraint loosen before sliding to the ground.

"What?"

She looked to the side to see another one. She was smaller than the other two with blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a white t-shirt with a purple star on it, jeans and sneakers.

"We're getting you out of here," she said, smiling. Maren couldn't help but believe her. She would rather take her chances with these guys than with the natives.

"Let's go," she said, taking her hand and pulling her along. Maren spotted something out of the corner out of her eye.

"Not yet. There's something I want to do first."

----------------------------

Papu Papu roared as swung at Crash. However, as usual, the bandicoot was proving to agile for the overweight chieftain. Crash jumped to the side before poking his tongue out at him, only provoking him further. Papu was half considering just body slamming the bandicoot and ending the fight there.

He swung the staff down low, managing to trip Crash up. A smile of triumph spread across his face as he brought it up to smash the bandicoot's skull.

WHAM!

Papu Papu was still for a moment before slumping to the floor. Maren stood behind him, a satisfied smirk on her face and a broken shield in her hands.

Throwing it to the ground, she looked at the dopey marsupial.

"Ok, NOW let's go."

Crash nodded before whistling to Crunch. The larger bandicoot nodded before the four of them dashed out of the village with a fear spear wielding villagers on their tail.

----------------------------

It took a good five minutes of running before they lost them. They slumped down on a nearby log to rest.

"You ok?" Coco asked. Maren simply nodded.

"Yeah. Can't say this is the ideal first day here though."

"Well, at least you're alright."

Maren jumped at the sight of the floating tiki mask in front of her. Cannibalistic natives, humanoid marsupials and now possessed masks? This was becoming a little much.

"It's ok," Coco stood up, "This is Aku Aku. He's our guardian."

The mask nodded, almost like he was bowing.

"A pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Coco," she introduced herself, "This s Crunch," she gestured to the large bandicoot, "And this is my brother Crash." The orange bandicoot smiled and waved.

"Well, I'm Maren," Maren replied, "And thank you for rescuing me."

"We just did what any decent being would have done," Crunch shrugged, "But you need to be careful around here."

"I'll keep that in mind. I can certainly say I wasn't expecting this when I got the job."

"Job?" Coco asked. Maren nodded.

"Yeah, I got a job and I was told to come down here."

Maren smiled.

"Do you happen to know where he lives? I was looking for it when I got captured."

"Well, we'll see," Aku replied, "Who is it that you work for?"

Maren thought for a brief second before replying.

"Doctor Neo Cortex."

* * *

Two chapters posted in one day! I'm on a role!

That's right folks, Maren's boss is Cortex! But does this mean she'll be Crash's enemy? Find out next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot belongs to Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Maren belongs to PoweroftheWol.

**A Woman's Touch **

**Chapter 3**

Collective jaws hit the floor.

"CORTEX!?"

Maren jumped a little at the reaction. This was definitely something she wasn't expecting.

"Is something wrong?"

Coco was the first to speak up.

"He's evil! He tried to dominate the world! He tried to kill us!"

"He also created us!" Crunch added.

Silence followed.

"Wait, forget that."

"The fact still remains," Aku spoke, "That Cortex is our sworn enemy. How could you even consider working for someone like him?"

"Well," Maren answered, "I didn't know he was a mad scientist. All I was told was that he was looking for a lab assistant. Here."

She pulled out the advertisement she printed off from her pocket.

"It says here: Lab Assistant required. Knowledge in physics and biology required. Experience preferred but willing to be lenient. Accommodations will be provided. Tropical working environment and bright, new opportunities."

"Yeah," Coco scoffed, "New opportunities to create doomsday devices."

Maren sighed sadly as she put the ad away.

"I should have known this was too good to be true. I haven't been able to get a job since I was fired before, and all of a sudden I nab this dream job? I should have known."

She slumped onto a log, her head resting in her hands.

"But what am I going to do then? It's going to be heck finding another job, and from what I know, this Cortex guy pays pretty well."

Crash rolled his eyes. He knew that wasn't the case. Just ask the penguins.

Maren then sprung to her feet, a smile on her face.

"I've got it! I'll still work for him, but when he comes up with any plans for domination, I'll warn you guys in advance!"

A small smile formed on the tiki mask's face.

"Hmm, a spy among Cortex's men. Yes, an excellent idea."

"I'll still get paid, and have none of the guilt of working for an evil scientist!"

"Then it's settled," said Crush, "Maren's our little spy against Cortex."

Coco nodded and Crash gave the thumbs up.

"So, um," Maren rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Does anyone know where Cortex lives?"

----------------------------

Cortex muttered something to himself as he looked over a series of plans he had before him.

"Ok, giant robots are out. We've tried those, what, three times? And that stupid marsupial always seems to destroy them. Hmm, I could try another super soldier, only this time prevent it from jumping ship again."

Growling in frustration, Cortex brushed the plans off the desk onto the floor.

"Oh forget it! I'll just go back to my research."

Cortex pulled a comic from under his desk and began reading. He slapped his forehead.

"Now why didn't I think of that!?"

"Doctor Cortex!"

Cortex jumped before stuffing the comic back into the drawer. He turned and growled at his cyborg partner.

"What is it N. Gin," he growled, "This better be important!"

"It's the bandicoots!" the short cyborg said quickly, "They're outside the lab!"

"What!?" The short scientist leaped out of his chair, "But we're supposed to attack them! Not the other way around!"

The two ran into the main room. Tropy was already there, standing in front of the console.

"You don't have to worry," the blue scientist spoke as Cortex and N. Gin reached the console, "They've already left."

"Wha?"

"However, they've left a little someone for us."

Cortex looked at the monitor. Just as Tropy had said, the Bandicoots were nowhere in sight. Instead, a young woman was standing at the entrance of their lab. Quite attractive with brown hair tied into a ponytail, green eyes, wearing a red shirt and jeans.

Cortex didn't need to turn to see that N. Gin was drooling.

"Hubba hubba!"

Cortex rolled his eyes and observed the young woman. Something seemed familiar to him.

Then he remembered.

"Ah, it's the new lab assistant I hired a couple of days ago."

N. Tropy rose an eyebrow.

"You hired a new assistant?"

N. Gin embraced Cortex in a tight hug.

"This s the best birthday gift anyone has ever given me!"

Cortex grimaced as he pushed the cyborg off of him.

"One, it's not your birthday. And two, I didn't hire her for you! I figured this place could use a woman's touch. Besides, Nina needs a good role model."

Tropy looked down at the woman as she was waving at the camera.

"Are you sure about this Cortex?"

"Of course," he replied confidently as he headed for the elevator, "I was the one who chose to hire her, not N. Gin."

N. Tropy sighed. That was what he was afraid of.

----------------------------

Maren tapped her foot as she stood outside the iceberg laboratory. After all she had seen, she really wasn't going to question how it was possible for an iceberg to exist all the way down here in Australia. After all, she had just been captured by natives and saved by humanoid bandicoots.

The door opened and a short man in white stepped out. What caught her attention was his head. It was HUGE, way out of proportion with the rest of his body. He had a black beard with the exception of some black hair, was almost bald. A big N was shown on his forehead. He was about a head shorter than Maren.

"Hello," he said with a friendly smile, "You must be Maren. I'm Doctor Neo Cortex, we spoke over the phone."

Maren couldn't help but smile as she shook his hand. For a supposed evil genius, he was pretty polite.

"Come," he said, ushering her inside, "You must be eager to work."

Maren nodded as she followed Cortex inside.

Today was her first day, as a lab assistant and as a spy.

She definitely was not expecting this when she applied for the job.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot belongs to Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Maren belongs to PoweroftheWol.

**A Woman's Touch **

**Chapter 4**

"And this is the main laboratory!" Cortex announced as he lead Maren into the large, circular room. She looked around, now sporting a white lab coat that Cortex had given her. The place was filled with the hum of computers and the sound of the machines outside could be barely heard.

"It's very nice," Maren replied politely, trying not to offend her short boss, even if he was a mad scientist who probably didn't deserve it.

"Hey there beautiful," came an almost creepy voice behind her. Maren slowly turned and squeaked in surprise when she saw a small man, even shorter than Cortex, standing behind her. It was his height that shocked her though. It was the fact that half his face was mechanical, and what appeared to be a missile was lodged into his head.

Cortex sighed.

"Maren, this is N. Gin, my 'partner'," he said, adding the last word as if he himself didn't believe it. Maren looked down at the little cyborg, who was currently ogling her.

"How would you like to rid my rocket of love?" he said lecherously.

"Is he always like this?" Maren asked, feeling very uncomfortable.

"I'm afraid so," Cortex sighed, "Just ignore him."

Maren nodded and decided to do just that.

She followed Cortex over to a computer terminal. He began instructing her one what she should do until another voice spoke up.

"So you're the new lab assistant."

Maren turned to see a tall man with blue skin standing behind her. He was dressed in a bizarre suit of armour, covered with clocks. Maren couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by him. She nodded quietly.

"I am Doctor Neferious Tropy," he spoke in a proud voice, "Master of time."

He offered his hand. Maren took it almost shyly.

"I'm Maren," she spoke shyly. Tropy smirked before turning and walking away. Cortex cleared his throat, getting her attention.

"Now, where were we?"

----------------------------

Maren's first day wasn't the most exciting. All she was doing was monitering Corte'x machines, fixing any bugs and such in his programs and overall scanning the islands (she figured she's tell Crash and the others that Cortex was watching everything when the day ended).

Cortex didn't seem too bad in her opinion. A little arrogant and a bit of a meglomaniac, but hew as also a bit of a goof.

Tropy was pretty arrogant, so confident in himself. Maren was finding herself wishing he'd fall over or screw up what he was doing just to see him embarrassed.

Then there was N. Gin. That little mite had not stopped hitting on her since she arrived, and its was slowly eating away at her patience. If it wasn't for the fear that assaulting him would get her fired, N. Gin would be a pile of moosh by now.

"Come on," N. Gin spoke for the fiftieth time that day, "I know these islands like that back of my hand. I know plenty of place where we can be alone."

Maren thought she was going to be sick. The thought of being alone with this worm was enough to make her stomach turn. Thankfully Cortex was in the room as well.

"D-D-Dr Cortex," came a new voice, "C-can I speak to you for a," he voice trailed off into a small fit of giggles, "a moment."

Maren's ear perked up. Who was that?

She turned from her console to see another man talking to Cortex. He was about her height, bald, with a long, almost cone shaped head. He had dark eyes, bags under them, suggesting how hard he worked and bolts in his head (which made Maren winced. She figured it must be painful for him). His outfit stood out, being green in colour, reaching to his feet and wore red shoes. Unlike the other doctors, he was gloveless.

The new doctor put a beaker filled with red liquid on a nearby desk before showing Cortex a document. The two began talking quietly, too quietly for Maren to hear. However, occasionally he heard the man giggle softly.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"That's N. Brio," N. Gin replied, "Cortex's former partner before I came along, although Cortex still keeps him around."

N. Brio? Did all of these guy's names start with N? Although, while he may not be the best looking guy in the world, there was something about him that fascinated her.

"But nevermind him," N. Gin said slyly, "You've got Cortex's current partner right here."

Maren stared down at the little cyborg before turning back to her terminal.

"I've got work to do."

"Ok good-looking. But if you need me, I'm just down the hall."

Maren shuddered as N. Gin left the room. She took a quick over her shoulder to see N. Brio leave the room, taking his beaker with him. Cortex made his way over to her.

"So, how are you enjoying your first day?"

"Well, to be honest," Maren replied, "It could have been a little better."

"I'm going to assume N. Gin has something to do with this?"

Maren slowly nodded. Cortex sighed in annoyance.

"Look, if he's annoying you, just ignore him. If that doesn't work, well, let's say you wont get into any trouble."

Maren raised an eyebrow. "You mean…"

"Yes," Cortex nodded, "Frankly, I'm surprised you manage to refrain from doing it hours ago. But don't worry, your job wont be at risk."

Maren nodded and smiled. She felt much better knowing this. Cortex smiled.

"Good. Enjoy the rest of the day."

Maren nodded and continued her work as Cortex walked away. As she worked, her thoughts kept trailing back to that cone headed, giggling chemist.

* * *

Not the best chapter in the world, but it's not bad. I've used N. Brio's old appearance, mainly because I don't like what they did with him in Twinsanity.

So now Maren's seen Brio for the first time. Let's see what develops.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot belongs to Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Maren belongs to PoweroftheWol.

**A Woman's Touch **

**Chapter 5**

"So, what can you tell me about Dr. Cortex?"

Maren had finished her work for the day and had snuck off to the bandicoot's home. She figured she'd learn as much about her new employers as she could.

"Well," Coco explained, "He originally created us to use as tools for his plans in world domination. However, Crash here couldn't be controlled and eventually defeated him. Crunch managed to break from Cortex's control and the three of us…"

"Ahem," Aku spoke up.

"Sorry, the FOUR of us have been fighting Cortex and his goons ever since."

"Interesting. Did Cortex create any others?"

Coco nodded. "They were more loyal to Cortex, although they've broken off from in due time."

"Who were they?" Maren didn't know why she was so curious. She just was.

"Let's see," Coco started counting her fingers, "There was Ripper Roo…"

"What!?" Maren was shocked, "Governor Roo was created by Cortex!?"

"Governor!?" Crunch asked.

"That's right," Coco answered, "Ripper Roo got elected governor last year. It's surprising, I know. Cortex also created Koala Kong."

"Ooh, I saw "Koala's of War", that was a good movie."

"Yeah. He also created Pinstripe Potoroo."

"Hmm, didn't he run for governor of Chicago?"

"I think so. He also created the Komodo Bros, a pair of Komodo dragons, Tiny, a tiger, and Dingodile, a cross between a dingo and a crocodile."

"I see, interesting. So, what can you tell me about N. Gin?"

At the moment, there was a knock at the door.

"I'll get that," Coco jumped up and walked over to the door. Maren heard her open it and some voices.

"Tawna!"

"Hey Coco!" come another, more older female voice.

"Hey there squirt," came a third voice, with a heavy American accent.

"Come on in!"

Coco walked back into the room, this time followed by an older female bandicoot wearing a red top, jeans and had blonde hair and a chest that made Maren feel a little inferior. With her was a humanoid marsupial dressed in a red pinstripe suit with slicked back black hair.

"Pinstripe, Tawna," Aku Aku greeted, "It's a pleasure to see you again." The two extended their greetings to him and Crunch before sitting down.

"Who's this?" Tawna asked, giving Maren a small smile.

"This is Maren," Coco answered, "She's Cortex's new lab assistant."

Tawna and Pinstripe froze before staring at the brunette. Maren suddenly felt really uncomfortable.

Before Pinstripe could shout out something along the lines of "What are ya thinking!?", Aku Aku spoke up.

"Don't worry. She's working with us. She's promised to tell us of any plans Cortex may come up with in the future."

"So she's a snitch?" That made Maren feel a little dirty.

"We prefer the word 'informant', but yes."

"So, um," Maren spoke up, "You were going to tell me about N. Gin?"

"The little freak's a pervert plain and simple," Coco answered. Maren rolled her eyes.

"Tell me about it," he wouldn't stop hitting on me all day. At least Cortex allows me to beat on him if he tries it again."

"Well," Pinstripe shrugged, "Ya can't say Cortex is all bad."

The group laughed.

"But perverted as he may be," Aku spoke, "He's still quite dangerous, capable of building giant robots capable of great destruction."

"And every time Crash has scrapped them," Pinstripe continued, "I mean, the little dope can hardly talk properly, but he can still bring down N. Gin's robots no problem. Hard to believe ain't it?"

Tawna giggled and gave Pinstripe a playful punch in the arm.

"Now, now, remember the rule."

"I know," Pinstripe chuckled, "be nice to the dope or I sleep on the couch."

Coco leaned over and whispered into Maren's ear "Crash and Tawna used to be together. It didn't work out, but they're still friends."

Maren simply nodded.

"So, what about N. Tropy?"

"Ah yes," Aku answered, "The so-called "Master of Time". He created a time machine so that Cortex could gather the crystals and gems for my brother, Uka Uka."

"Brother?" Maren was not going to ask how a floating tiki mask could have a brother. She was taking in enough information as it was.

Aku nodded and continued, "Crash, Coco and myself managed to destroy the machine and stop their plan."

Crash grinned proudly and gave the thumbs up. Maren chuckled.

"So, what about N. Brio?" She had wanted to ask about him all afternoon.

"I'll answer that," Pinstripe spoke up, "Brio was Cortex's right hand man when it all started, but after Crash beat him, he was replaced by N. Gin. The two were enemies at one point."

Coco nodded in agreement, "He had us gather gems to create a laser beam to destroy Cortex's space station."

"But it seems he's working with Cortex again," Aku continued, "He has a great deal of knowledge in chemistry as well as mechanics and genetics."

"He was the one who created the Evolvo-Ray," Pinstripe added, "Which turned us into what ya see before you."

Maren thought for a moment.

"Wait, if Brio created the machine that created you guys, wouldn't that mean HE created you and not Cortex?"

Everyone paused and thought for a moment. Coco chuckled softly.

"I guess you're right."

"Cortex did make me though," Crunch pointed out.

Maren nodded, "So, what else can you tell me about him?" She tried not to make it sound like she was eager. Even she didn't know why she was so interested.

"Well," Pinstripe, who had known Brio better than most in the room, thought for a second, "He's got self esteem issues. Cortex was able to take credit for his inventions and he didn't do jack."

"He only revealed the truth when he tried to make Brio look like the bad guy instead of himself," Aku added, remembering how Cortex tried to pin his world domination scheme on Brio at one point."

Everyone in the room apart from Maren shook their heads. That was one of Cortex's lowest moments.

"Those potions of his," Tawna added, "Can also turn him into giant monsters!"

Maren gasped softly and Crash shuddered. He knew very well what the doctor was capable of with those potions of his.

"But Crash has always beaten him in the end, right bro?" Coco spoke up. Crash grinned and nodded stupidly.

Maren thought for a moment. That strange man could turn himself into monsters? He was also the one who created Cortex's possibly greatest invention and even after Cortex had treated him badly, he still works for him?

Maren was finding herself more and more interested in the man.

"Well," she said, standing up, "I'd better head back. Dr. Cortex may start getting curious as to where I am."

The group nodded.

"Ok. If Cortex plans anything, be sure to tell us," Aku said. Maren nodded and smiled.

"I will, thank you. I'll see you again some time."

After their goodbyes, Maren quietly headed off back to the lab. Thankfully she had managed to acquire a ray gun from Cortex, so there was no worry being abducted by natives again.

As night settled on the islands, her mind was focused on a meek, yet interesting chemist and scientist.

* * *

Yeah, I know it's not much of a chapter. I had always invisioned it and it just didn't turn out that good. Anyway, next chapter, the two will finally get to meet. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Crash Bandicoot

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Crash Bandicoot. Crash Bandicoot belongs to Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin. Maren belongs to PoweroftheWol.

A Woman's TouchChapter 6

It had been a few days since Maren had begun her job as Cortex's assistant. So far, there were no bids for domination. All the N Team was doing was just divulging in their respective sciences, and in N. Gin's case, continuously hitting on her.

Thankfully, this allowed Maren to figure out the most effective ways of getting rid of him. Either go for the face, or go for the groin.

The time she spent with the N Team allowed her to get to know them much better. For a bunch of evil geniuses, they were good company. They almost seemed like a family. N. Tropy was the big, sensible brother, Cortex, the middle child, N. Gin, the horny little brother…

…and then there was Brio, the quiet brother who was usually in seclusion.

Something about him always caught her attention. Maybe it was his meek nature. Maybe it was because from what she heard, he was more successful than Cortex. Or maybe it was even after all he'd been through, he always came back to Cortex.

"Maren."

The brunette was pulled from her thoughts by Tropy, who had appeared next to her.

"Could you bring this up to Brio? I'd do it myself, but I'm busy with some work downstairs."

Maren nodded and accepted the document from him. During her time at the castle, she had grown a bit more tolerant of Tropy. Maybe all her beating on N. Gin had won her some respect. Whatever it was, he was showing a bit more politeness to her now.

Getting up from the computer she was working at, she began to walk up to Brio's personal lab, located high up in the castle.

Now that Maren thought about it, she had never really seen Brio's lab. Brio had always come down to collect what he needed before retreating back into seclusion.

After walking up the steps, she slowly pushed open the doors and stepped in.

Wall to wall, there were desks, beakers, flasks and possibly the most elaborate chemistry set she'd ever seen.

At the far end of the room, standing in front of a large window, was N. Brio. He was absorbed into his work, carefully mixing chemicals together.

Quietly, unwilling to disturb him, Maren approached him.

"Um, Dr. Brio?"

With a small yelp, the chemist in question jumped, almost dropping his beakers. He spun around to see Maren.

"O-o-oh. It's you," he sit before falling into a small fit of giggles, "Do you n-n-need anything?"

"Um, Tropy wanted me to bring you this," Maren stated, handing him the document. Brio quickly looked over it.

"Oh, well, t-t-thank you," Brio thanked before turning back to his chemistry set.

Maren would have normally left and gone back to work, but she saw this as the perfect to get to know him a bit better.

"So, what are you up to?" she asked innocently.

Brio gave her a quick glance in surprise. Normally everyone didn't seem to care what he was up to, only calling upon him when they needed him for some evil plan or something. It was a refreshing change for someone to be interested in his daily experiments.

"Well, a year or two ago, C-c-c-cortex claimed to have discovered a," he pauses for a quick giggle before continuing, "new element which he called C-c-cortexrulestheworldium."

Maren nodded slowly. She remembered reading a small article about that some time ago.

"Well, I'm t-trying to see if Cortex's element can really exist, so I'm combining various element, seeing if they c-c-create this mystery element of his."

"Any luck?"

Brio shook his head.

"So far, it seems that Cortex's element is completely b-b-bupcus!"

Maren couldn't help but giggle. Brio may still be loyal to Cortex, but that didn't mean he wasn't discrediting him behind his back.

At that point, she noticed Brio's hands trembling lightly.

"Is something wrong?"

Brio simply shook his head quietly.

"N-n-no, I'm f-" he was cut off by a yawn.

Maren sighed and shook her head lightly.

"How long have you been doing this?" she asked.

"Only a few hours."

That wasn't the answer Maren was asking for.

"Let me rephrase that. How long have you been working for?"

Brio seemed to be catching on what she was trying to ask, so he thought for a second before answering.

"I've been working for Cortex for a few years now, t-t-though I did take a giggle break for a year or s-s-so."

Maren was starting to get a little frustrated. It was clear that Brio was trying to dodge the question, so far proving what Maren had suspected.

"Ok, answer this then, when was that last time you had a break?"

Brio tried to find away around it, but sadly found none. It was hard to think with an agitated and (he secretly admitted) attractive woman standing right next to him glaring.

"Ten hours ago," he sighed, defeated.

Maren gave a soft, almost sad sigh.

"Working like this isn't good for you," she said, like a concerned mother talking to a child, "You need to rest once in a while."

"B-b-but…" Brio stummered.

"It's not like you're doing anything important at the moment anyway."

Brio looked down at his workbench, trying to find something to say.

"Look," Maren said gently, "I know a place by the waterfall where we can go, get something to eat, relax for a bit, and then, I promise, you can come back and go back to work."

Brio looked up at the brunette. He knew she wouldn't take no for an answer, and he already had enough trouble saying no as it was. Saying it to an attractive woman was even harder.

"Alright," he sighed. A small smile spread on Maren's face as she took his hand and lead him out of the gloomy laboratory.

--

Sorry for taking so long with this. I lost motivation for a bit of time. Thanks to JenL's art, I'm right back into this.


End file.
